Upcoming Maternity Event at Buggy!

I'm excited to announce that I will be part of an upcoming maternity event at Buggy, a very hip local maternity and baby consignment shop in the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle.  The 3 day event, Uteropia, will be held March 12-14, and I will be there all day on Saturday, March 13th, offering FREE belly shots to expectant moms!  The event is still shaping up, but I know they plan to feature several great products for new moms, and other vendors will be present throughout the event. 

Please spread the word to all your pregnant friends and family!  And feel free to contact me with any questions, as always I would love to hear from you!

Spring Portrait Special | Snohomish Portrait Photographer

I know, I'm pushing the Spring envelope, but a few sunny days in a row, and I can't help it!  Are you feeling it too?  Here's an idea for a way you could kick off your Spring - let's get out in the sun (non-rain?) and capture photos of your family as they are now...

As I continue to build my portfolio, I would love to offer a spring special to you, or to anyone else you know who might be interested:

Spring Portrait Special

*  60 - 90 minute session at the outdoor venue of your choice, in King or Snohomish county
*  $75 session fee will be waived
*  1 complimentary 8x10 portrait of your choice
*  all other prints and digital images discounted 10% off regular prices
*  I will ask you to sign a model release form so I may use the images in my galleries

If you are interested in booking a session, please contact me at jensharon1013@gmail.com, or via my Facebook fan page.  I would also really appreciate it if you would pass this blog post on to any of your local friends who may be interested!  The offer isn't limited to family portraits, either.  I'd love to do sessions with couples, high school seniors, and newborns as well!

Important note:  I am offering FIVE of these free sessions, so act fast! 

Around Town | Ravenna Gardens - University Village

I met up with my cousin and fellow photog Beth Ann this week, and we ended up walking around Ravenna Gardens at University Village in Seattle.  Such a fun shop to wander and enjoy the inviting displays, getting ideas for your home and garden, and taking photos of objects that catch your fancy instead of impulsively buying and taking them home.  Luckily the shop owner is open to such wandering, and we felt welcome...  If you know of any other little gems like this around town, please share!  It's always fun just to explore our great city with a camera in hand...

A few shots from the day:

Happy Valentine's Day

From the heart of a 4 and a 1/2 year old...

This one deserves a caption - clockwise from top you will see, Mommy (me) with long hair attached to head as an afterthought; Carter; a lobster; and finally Daddy, with a chin and beard, and shaved beard hair all around him (the dots).  Don't you love it?

My card has a drawing of a library bookshelf with Valentine books on the shelves.  Daddy's card is a mystery because I already forget what he was going for here, but I think it's some sort of Daddy robot with Carter on his shoulders, can you see it?

Self Portraits | SOAR! Photo Exercise #1

The first SOAR! photo assignment was a doozy.  Take two self portraits to document where I am in my journey of life, right now.  One portrait of myself, and one of an object that symbolizes me.  This exercise was meant to have us dig within and do the work to discover what we really feel about this journey we are all on. 

I knew I wanted my portrait to involve a big, wide staircase, because I know this journey is an UPHILL climb.  So, here I am at the bottom, for now (although, you'll notice, not on the VERY bottom!)  I may be just getting started, but I am fired up, and that is honestly how I felt when my husband was taking this picture.  With a determined stance, and looking the camera in the eye, I begin this climb... 

The object portrait is of a bud on a tree, and I must have shot 20 buds on 5 different trees before finding THE ONE, and then took 20 shots of that bud to get it right.  And that's what it takes, right?  This is me right now - fuzzy and green (no, just kidding) - starting to open up and show the world what I'm about. 

Here's to 2010...

My SOAR! Story

December 2009 was a crazy month in the Sharon household.  Not only because of the excitement of the holidays, but because I was scrambling to put together a 2 minute video to apply for the SOAR! photography scholarshop,  offered by Me Ra Koh.  I wasn't one of the 3 selected winners, but I feel like I actually did win, in another way.  Let me back up...

The scholarship was announced on December 1st, and the video submissions would be due by December 21st.  Crazy, crazy timing.  I cried reading about the opportunity that would be given to the 3 women who would win - a year of self discovery in the form of workshops, business coaching, software tutoring, not to mention the gear and other tools they would receive.  I initially shrugged it off, thinking I'd never have a chance of competing.  But that night, I woke up at 4am out of a sound sleep, a fully formed idea for my video complete in my mind.  Not something to ignore...  My amazingly supportive husband encouraged me to go for it, and I ultimately did, making changes to my idea along the way.  Both Jim and Carter appeared in the video with me, at times, and I could not have completed the video at all without the editing skills that Jim determinedly acquired all for me. 

I may not have won a scholarship, but making that video broke me out of the state of paralysis I'd been in, and helped me to get MOVING again, towards my dreams.  The day after the 3 winners were announced, I started this blog.  And the momentum is building - I hope my readers see evidence of that here this year. 

Another amazing effect of the SOAR scholarship race was the effect it had on all the applicants.  There were 263 videos submitted, and during the month leading up to the announcement of the winners, we became a community.  We chose to lift each other up and support one another, rather than be competitive.  We have formed regional groups, and we have a forum where we will share where this year takes us.  Most of us plan to follow along with the 3 winners, completing the same photo assignments and business coaching exercises. 

And that is my SOAR! story.  Now you'll know what I'm talking about when I post photo assignments, etc.  And at some point I hope to show a blogroll on the sidebar here, that will include many of my Soar Sisters' blogs.

Whew!  Ok, I'm posting this longest-to-date blog post, and next up will be my January photo assignment.

Thanks for being part of this journey with me!

C & C | Walla Walla portrait photography

I know, I shouldn't necessarily categorize myself as a Walla Walla photographer, being based in Snohomish and all, but since we do have family in that area, we travel there on a semi regular basis.  I'd be happy to set aside one block of time on our next weekend visit for anyone interested in some portraits!  Please feel free to contact me with questions, or to schedule a session.  :)

These cool friends of ours wanted some portraits to share with friends and family for Christmas, so we grabbed some time on the coldest possible day in early December and got these fun shots.  Guys, let's do it again, somewhere much warmer next time.  Mexico, perhaps?